BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on BKU. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BankUnited currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.18.

BankUnited Price Performance

BKU opened at $33.30 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.27. BankUnited has a twelve month low of $24.34 and a twelve month high of $44.45.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 8.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that BankUnited will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. BankUnited’s payout ratio is presently 37.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BankUnited

In other BankUnited news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $113,772.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,955. This trade represents a 20.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BKU. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 182.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the 4th quarter valued at $73,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 270.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 1,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the 4th quarter valued at $113,000. 99.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BankUnited Company Profile

BankUnited, Inc operates as the bank holding company for BankUnited, a national banking association that provides a range of banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, money market deposit, and savings accounts; certificates of deposit; and treasury, commercial payment, and cash management services.